Characterization of microarc oxidation coatings on pure titanium

The morphology, composition, and phase structure of the oxide coatings produced on the surface of pure titaniumby alternating-current microarc discharge in aluminate solution were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electronmicroscopy. The profiles of the hardness H and the elastic modulus E in the coatings were determined using a nanoindenta-tion method. The concentration distributions of Ti, Al, and O in the coating show that this coating over 30 μm thick containstwo layers: an outer layer and an inner layer. The oxide coating is mainly composed of TiO2 rutile and Al2TiO5 compounds.During oxidation, the temperature in the microarc discharge channel was very high to make the local coating molten. Fromthe surface to the interior of the coating, H and E increase gradually, and then reach maximum values of 9.78 GPa and 176GPa respectively at a distance of 7 μm from the coating/titanium interface. They are also rather high near the interface.